Rep. Livingstone and Middlesex DA Marian Ryan Discuss the Importance of Fireworks Safety

Rep. Livingstone and Middlesex DA Marian Ryan spoke to NECN regarding firework safety, and specifically the bill that Jay filed regarding the matter. To view the bill text, click here. View the video below.

From NECN.com: Fireworks may look like fun, but the remains of a cantaloupe, and what used to be an orange, show just powerful pyrotechnics can be.

"It demonstrates what exactly would happen if it went off in your hand, or near the body," Cambridge Bomb Squad Sgt. Edward Frammartino said.

It's the annual warning from safety officials to try to prevent fireworks injuries and damage caused by setting them off as the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches.

"What we repeatedly see in these situations is suddenly the fun and the excitement turns tragic and we don't even refer to those as accidents because they are totally preventable," explained Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

To that end, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has teamed up with Massachusetts State Representative Jay Livingstone to propose a new law specifically targeting people who set off fireworks negligently causing property damage.

"When things go bad there should be consequences the current state of law doesn't quite fit a lot of situations," Livingstone said.

"The message hopefully is quite clear to everybody do not use these things, as tempting as they are people say oh what could happen, unfortunately we see every year exactly what could happen and it's quite often not good," added Assistant Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon.